Karn
They are a small tribe in the Jungles of Ardania. Something about 100 men and women. The thing about magic, the stuff is not very typical in this world, is engraved in their culture. The Karn are natives. Their roots are very deep, meaning their tribe is very old and consistent. But they live in the nature. That's what their culture demands. Etymology The origin of the name Karn is as of yet unknown. History The Karn are not warring. But if anyone would ever try to conquer the village of the Karn, they would face the "wrath of nature", as it is being told. Only once a king of an already lost land made this mistake. The survivors of his army passed down: : It was, as if the forest itself was on their side. They knew our arrival, before we were there. The beasts of jungle became hostile against us. The plants slowed down our movement. The path was lost. Gods were trying to prevent our entry. Until we reached the village, we were already decimated and exhausted enough for them to take out the rest. They left many survivors. Maybe to show their peacefulness. Or maybe to let them spread word of their power. I would rather be executed for refusing command than trying another invade there. :: ''-unidentified record'' Biology The Karn have an inherited magical power, once granted by Reucea, that cannot be given to anybody. You can only be born with this power, meaning it is impossible to acquire it as an outsider. Not every Karnuo has this power. They call the power "Arue". It is a nature-based kind of magic, allowing it's user to communicate with any living creature. This includes other human beings, allowing the Karn to contact other humans without knowing their language. This also allows them to learn and teach things very fast. Arue has also consequences, depending how much and how strong you are using it: The stronger your Arue is, the weaker your body becomes. The Karnuo speak about Arue having three states of mastery: #As beginner with Arue you don't have many consequences from it. You first notice your voice becoming more silent and your eyesight weaker. The powers you can access are able to speak to the hearts of anybody else, including animals and plants. #After rendered completely mute and blind, your Arue is considered advanced. The abilities you get are more powerful, allowing you to connect to others, what makes you able to sense anything the connected person can (including sight). You need body contact in order to hold this connection. The stronger your Arue becomes now, the weaker your body will get. #Mastering Arue makes you a Kaare, and you shall not master it, unless you must. As Kaare, your body is so weak, that it is completely paralyzed. You can only move your head, so you need somebody who can care for you. Your powers however, are now able to connect to everything near to you. Also, you can communicate with even the smallest life, granting you healing powers, as you can "talk" to the cells of larger organisms. Spirituality The Karn are living along the nature. While they take their food and drink from the nature, they return their dead bodies to the jungle, as fine for the hunt. The "funeral" is held by the Hakki. They do not follow any particular gods, but acknowledge their existence. The Kaare is able to contact Reucea, as she is connected with this deity by Arue. Gender/Family Every Karnuo able to utilize Arue must select a partner of opposite gender. This partner must not utilize Arue. After reaching the second stage of Arue, you get a ceremonial marriage to your partner. In each generation, a future Kaare is being chosen among those who are about to master Arue. The chosen one becomes the next Kaare, while the old one resignates from this position, continuing her life as elder Kaare until her death. The new Goru must care for the Kaare until the next one is chosen. Social Structure The highest position (and the most respect) you could ever get among the Karn, assuming you're not an outsider, is the Shamaness. She's called "Kaare" in their language. She is the person who mastered Arue. The Kaare doesn't necessarily need to be female, but she mostly is, therefore addressed as "she". She is always married to the Tribe Chief. The second highest position is the Tribe Chief. He (similar to the Kaare) doesn't necessarily need to be male. The tribe calls him "Goru". The Goru acquires his position by being married to the Kaare. Thereafter come the "Hakki", The hunters. They are the "warriors" of the tribe, while you never should call them an army. (Just. Don't.) Their job is hunting, as you should guess. They go outside of the village to hunt and collect food for the village. They contain men as well as women, who are able to utilize the tribe's magic and a few exceptionally strong villagers. The number of "Hakki" is not consistent, as it changes very often. Each villager may try to become a "Hakki". The rest is the common people are the "Karnuo". They are working in the village with different professions. They also include the children, mothers and elders. As an outsider you are able to join the Karn by pledging loyalty to the lifestyle of the Karn. Culture They don't have any written knowledge, but their Kaare appears omniscient. They appear to hand down all their knowledge from Kaare to Kaare. And she gladly gives answers to what you wish to know, as long as she can. She also collects knowledge from the people that ask her, be it a Karnuo or an outsider. Economics The Goru (Tribe Chief) is in charge for any management in the Tribe. He splits any food fairly among the people. The Hakki and the Karnuo are hunting, fishing and collecting food for the village. Government The Kaare and the Goru are the two persons that could be called "Government" once every generation, a new Kaare is being selected, so the old one may retire. The new Kaare also takes her partner as Goru. Category:Civilizations